By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
Kentucky coach John Calipari wasn’t happy with his team’s performance in a 96-73 win over Hofstra Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“We got away from them and there was a gap, but at the end of the day even the second half was 48-40,” he said. “It wasn’t like we just buried them.”
Although the No. 6 Wildcats (9-1) won their second straight since a 97-92 loss to second-ranked UCLA, Calipari said Kentucky has “a long way to go” before reaching its full potential.
“We’re young, we show it,” Calipari said. “We’re talented. We do some good things in stretches and then we do some bad things in stretches.
“I’m worried and we still have some players (who) aren’t playing with the confidence they have to play with. I’m not sure what it is about them.”
Kentucky freshman guard Malik Monk paced the Wildcats with 20 points and has scored double digits in all 10 games this season. The performance also marked the sixth time Monk has scored 20 or more points for the Wildcats.
Boxscore link: Kentucky 96, Hofstra 73
Monk played a big role in Kentucky’s strong finish to close the first half as the Wildcats used a 12-0 run to create adequate spacing between the two teams. Kentucky scored the first six points of the second half to put the game out of reach.
Monk wasn’t surprised by the Pride’s performance in the opening half.
“We’re going to be every team’s Super Bowl,” Monk said. “Coach (Calipari) said that from the jump. So if we don’t bring it, we’re going to get beat. So every game we gotta bring it and be focused in from the jump. Every team is going to bring their best, so we just gotta be prepared.”
Calipari likes the way Monk is scoring, but would like the freshman guard to become more aggressive around the basket.
“Malik is playing and trying to do the things we’re asking him to do,” Calipari said. “(The) only thing is he has to get fouled more. Don’t go to the basket trying to avoid everybody and flip a ball. Get fouled.”
Isaiah Briscoe followed Monk with 19 points and tallied 15 of those in the first half when the Wildcats needed a boost. Briscoe made his first six attempts from the field and has tallied double figures in eight games Briscoe added six assists, one shy of his career high.
Briscoe said the Wildcats wanted to get off to a fast start and control the tempo from the opening tipoff.
We came out (and) we (focused) on ourselves,” Briscoe said. “We came out, we were playing good defense. The other team was making shots, but we kept calm and sooner or later we’ll get into their legs and they’ll get tired and we made our run right before halftime. We did that and once we came out for the second half, we were on our way.”
De’Aaron Fox followed Briscoe with 15 points, followed by Bam Adebayo with 14 points and seven rebounds. Derek Willis had eight points and a season-high eight rebounds.
Even though Kentucky shot 51 percent from the field and collected eight blocks, the Wildcats were out rebounded 45-41, a number that disappointed Calipari.
“The rebounding really bothered me because a bunch of them were perimeter shots and our guys all just looked at the ball,” Calipari said. “Either they tipped it away or jumped over our back, or the ball went over our heads. It was just frustrating because we’re working on it. But, it is what it is right now with us.”
Gametracker: Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 5:45 p.m., Saturday, Las Vegas. TV/Radio: CBS (Channel 27), 98.1 FM WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter